Saturday, January 14, 2017

Peter Thiel says "I love Peter Thiel"

The rather odd Peter Thiel has not been paying attention. Thiel told The New York Times this week that he does not believe that Trump will attempt to reverse the gains of the LGBT community.

I suppose that depends upon your definition of “reverse.” Certainly appointing Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III to be attorney general is not a good sign of things to come. I get that Sessions was a early supporter of Trump and might deserve some reward. Nevertheless, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III is an unmistakable bigot. While he said the right words in his confirmation hearing I also believe him to be a liar whose lifelong ambition has been to be our attorney general.

Topping Sessions for anti-LGBT bigotry is Ben Carson who is an idiot savant. Carson is an accomplished neurosurgeon. Yet at all else he seems remarkably ignorant. He has claimed that sexual orientation is a personal choice and that transgender people don't really exist. All this, of course, is based upon his conservative religious beliefs. One might hope that a superstitious fool would be prevented from obtaining a cabinet post but this is know-nothing Trump's cabinet.

Yet Trump's VP selection makes Carson look like a lobbyist for the Human Rights Campaign. Pence was one of the most demonstrably anti-gay members of Congress during his legislative career. Trump sure as hell hasn't eliminated anyone due to their extreme anti-LGBT views.

Of all the Trump nominees only one has demonstrated any sensitivity to the needs of LGBT Americans and that would be Rex Tillerson. We need to remind Trump and his barbarian horde that LGBT people are citizens and taxpayers. Also, about 40% of other American citizens and taxpayers have a close family member who is gay, bi or transgender. It is only too bad that those folks didn't get out and vote in November or pulled levers in a moment of temporary insanity.

Trump does not seem to have appointed anyone who is openly gay. I am bracing myself for more anger at the Bernie-or-Bust crowd when Trump makes a Supreme Court nomination. We had an opportunity to make an historic shift in the Court and we fucked it all up.

So to sum it up, Herr Thiel has done nothing to ameliorate my Trumpsomnia. The only thing worse than not sleeping is taking a sleeping pill and then not sleeping which pretty much describes my state since November 8. In my sleep deprived confusion a couple of days ago, I actually started to cross the street when the light turned red (true story). Thiel can throw money at just about any problem or inconvenience that he encounters. Most of us do not have that luxury. Meanwhile I remain — — — sleepless in South Beach.